By the early 17th century, as an extended era of peace dawned across Japan, female samurai served as everything from patrons of the arts and scientists to painters and firefighters.
Public DomainBy the Edo period, female samurai were roughy equal in number to their male counterparts.
The word “samurai” typically brings to mind a fierce Japanese man wearing elaborate armor and wielding a sword. However, a new exhibition at the British Museum is challenging these assumptions — and showcasing the little-known history of female samurai.
According to curator Rosina Buckland, half of Japan’s samurai were women by the 17th century. While many of them served in traditionally female roles within the home, others worked as artists or firefighters, and some even fought on the battlefield alongside their male counterparts. Buckland’s exhibition, which will be on display from February through May 2026, presents artifacts from these female samurai, overlooked heroes from Japan’s history.
The Long History Of Female Samurai In Japan, From The Feudal Era To The Edo Period
The British MuseumThe “Samurai” exhibition at the British Museum.
Samurai, known at the time as bushi, emerged in 10th-century Japan as mercenaries who fought for wealthy landowners. Over time, their political power expanded, especially as the first shogunate — or military government — was officially established in 1192.
During this period, the samurai transformed from subordinate fighters to their own elite ruling class. While most of the warriors were indeed men, there are many stories of renowned female samurai, known as Onna-bugeisha and Onna-musha.
One of the most famous was Tomoe Gozen, who reportedly led hundreds of men into battle in the late 12th century. According to legend, she was a remarkable fighter who beheaded her enemies and then went on to become a Buddhist nun.
There was also Ōhōri Tsuruhime, the daughter of a 16th-century priest who led an army into battle to defend her island of Ōmishima. Historical accounts claim that she once sneaked into an enemy ship filled with samurai and killed their leader in a duel. Her fighting skills and religious background earned her the nickname “the Joan of Arc of Japan.”
Public DomainAn Edo period depiction of female samurai Tomoe Gozen on horseback.
After the Edo period began in 1603, the role of the samurai changed once more. There wasn’t a high demand for warriors during this peaceful era, so members of the samurai class instead became government officials, scholars, and patrons of the arts.
It was during the Edo period that half of Japan’s samurai were women, and artifacts illustrating the various positions they held in society are now on display in London.
Artifacts At The British Museum That Illustrate The Lives Of The Female Samurai
Rosina Buckland is a Japanese art scholar who curated the new “Samurai” exhibition for the British Museum. Her aim was to explain “that there’s a lot [about samurai] that is misunderstood and based on myth,” as she told The Guardian.
Public DomainMembers of the samurai class pose for a photo in Kyoto in 1867.
“What I want to address in the exhibition is the way that perception of samurai has become narrowed down to just this male warrior in armor wielding a sword,” Buckland said. “That’s a tiny part of what they were over hundreds of years. They were warriors in the beginning, but there was a balance between the military and the literary and the artistic.”
The 280 artifacts on display at the British Museum include armor, weapons, paintings, woodblock prints, clothing, ceramics, art, and more. One of the most striking relics is a samurai helmet dating back to 1519 that features gold lacquer and decorative iris leaves.
Then, there are the objects that belonged to female samurai, from robes and hair care tools to a hand mirror and an etiquette book.
But perhaps the most surprising is an outfit made for female samurai firefighters. In a statement about the exhibition, the British Museum describes the artifact:
“Among the highlights is a vermilion red, woman’s firefighting jacket and hood… worn by women serving within Edo Castle. Fires were so common in the wooden city of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) that they were known as the ‘flower of Edo,’ and this jacket’s design of tasselled grappling hooks amid surging water evokes protection against the flames.”
John C. Weber Collection, John Bigelow Taylor/The British MuseumFemale samurai who lived and worked in Edo Castle were trained to protect the women’s quarters from fire. This jacket and hood was worn by one of these female firefighters.
These items will be on display at the British Museum until May 2026 for anyone interested in learning more about the true history of Japan’s samurai — particularly the forgotten women who held the title.
As Buckland told The Guardian, “This rediscovery of female samurai history reframes centuries of gendered myth and challenges the hyper-masculine image of the samurai that still dominates film, anime, and gaming.”
After learning about the new British Museum exhibition that reveals the true history of Japan’s female samurai, go inside the story of the soldaderas, the female warriors who fought in the Mexican Revolution. Then, read about Yoshiko Kawashima, the Chinese princess who spied for Japan.
